Valiant Skies
Duration: 6 Minutes
Difficulty: Grade 3
Recording: Vienna Synchron Stage Wind Ensemble - Chris Pilsner, conductor
If I was to find a common element that ties together my favorite pieces of music, its a great melody that is able to transform itself over the entirety of it’s work. My goal with Valiant Skies was to do exactly that.
In order to create a melody that could transform as it moved through various styles and tempi, I knew it had to have a simple structure to it. After trying hundreds of ideas, I finally came upon one that struck a balance between beauty and simplicity that I was looking for. This allowed me to not only create a lush, lyrical opening, but also use that same melody in different variations and forms to unify the piece’s moments of joy, conflict, and ultimately triumph.
As is my usual process, the name Valiant Skies came from the music as I wrote it. Throughout the entire work, I felt the music had a enduring and courageous spirit that kept whispering “valiant” in my ears. Simultaneously, I kept coming back to a motive that ascends up the lydian scale, giving the entire piece a feeling of taking off into the sky.”
Valiant Skies was commissioned by Kevin Johnson, Travis Downs, and the North Gwinnett Middle School Symphonic Band in 2018. It will premiere on March 27th, 2019 at the Music for All Festival at Georgia State University.